Addis Ababa (dpa) 5 May 2003 - Ten people were killed Sunday as floods

from the Wabe Shebelle River swept over parts of the Ogaden region of 

eastern Ethiopia, reports said Monday.

Over 80,000 inhabitants of the towns of Mustahill and Kelafo were stranded 

on high ground, as they were forced to flee their homes.

The official Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) said the Wabe Shebelle River was

swollen in the early hours of Sunday by heavy rains in the highlands of

Bale in the southeast of the country.

The river burst its banks, inundating the low ground in Ogaden region,

including the town of Gode and the areas as far south as Kelafo, near the

border with neighbouring Somalia, the report said.

The floods also caused extensive damage to fruit trees as well as to over

1,000 hectares of farmland, killing a number of livestock.

Rescue workers and a health team have reportedly been rushed to Mustahill

and Kelafo and other affected localities with provisions and blankets.

Over 10,000 stranded people had been moved to safe ground by late Sunday as

the floods receded with the help of rescue workers, it was reported.

Chief executive of the Somali Regional State Abdulreshid Dulene, who flew

into the affected areas to supervise the rescue operations, said that

"adequate medical supplies'' have been brought to the area by helicopter

to prevent disease from taking hold as a result of the catastrophe.

"In addition, 4,000 blankets and plastic sheeting shelters, cooking

utensils with kerosene have been brought to help the people in the area

prepare hot meals for children and the elderly until ... the people are able to 

return to their homes,'' Abdulreshid said.